Chapter 12
Fu Zhi’s room.
The camera suddenly caught a loud “bang” from the bathroom-something had fallen hard to the floor.
[What happened to Fu Zhi? Did he slip in the shower?]
[Why did it sound like a phone dropping?]
With a “whoosh,” the bathroom door swung open.
Fu Zhi walked out, his earlobes unnaturally red.
He tossed his phone onto the table like it was scalding hot.
Then he paced back and forth in the room: flipping through a book, sorting his luggage, pouring himself some water.
But he didn’t turn a single page, left his luggage in a mess, and didn’t even notice when the water overflowed.
He looked busy, but it was impossible to tell what he was actually busy with.
[The word “guilty” is written all over Fu Zhi.]
[Why doesn’t he dare look at his phone? Is there something embarrassing on it, hahahaha]
[I have a bold guess-was Fu Zhi secretly watching Ning Xi’s livestream just now?]
[With Fu Zhi’s reaction, that’s a dead giveaway.]
Ning Xi was happily interacting with her fans when suddenly some strange comments popped up on the screen.
[Wangzai Milk: Go check on Fu Zhi, he’s about to break…]
Ning Xi was puzzled: “What, is he a Want Want Ice Pop or something?” (T/N: “Want Want Ice Pop” is a brand of popsicle in China; here it’s a play on the word “break”)
With Fu Zhi’s bad temper, that grumpy guy, how could he possibly “break”?
[You Provoked a Lion: Feels like Ning Xi doesn’t care about Fu Zhi at all. Are they really friends?]
Ning Xi almost wanted to give this comment a thumbs-up:
“Yeah, so if you don’t like me, go ahead and scold my friend. If I’m like this, what good could he be?”
She added, “But if you scold him, you can’t scold me anymore~”
Ning Xi’s attitude had completely changed by now:
Since she couldn’t get Fu Zhi off the show, she might as well let him take the blame for her.
After all, on this show, the two of them are “childhood friends.”
And as friends, they should share the tough times and let her enjoy the good ones.
“Ning Xi, why aren’t you taking off your makeup yet?” Jiang Sheshe, fresh out of the shower, suddenly asked.
Ning Xi didn’t even look up: “I’ll wait until the livestream is over.”
Jiang Sheshe immediately grew suspicious:
Ning Xi… could she be afraid to take her makeup off?
She glanced at Ning Xi’s flawless makeup and recalled all the info she’d seen before, confirming she had never seen anything about Ning Xi’s bare face.
Every time Ning Xi appeared in public, she always had perfect full makeup…
“The water heater’s not working too well. There might not be any hot water soon. You’d better hurry and shower,” Jiang Sheshe urged.
Ning Xi could tell right away what Jiang Sheshe was up to, her brow arching slightly.
“No need.”
Jiang Sheshe looked disappointed.
But at the same time, she was even more convinced: Ning Xi didn’t dare let the viewers see her bare face!
She was determined to expose Ning Xi’s real face.
At that moment-
[Youai Butler: After a day of brief interaction, everyone is gradually getting to know each other. Tomorrow, we’ll begin our Switch Dating segment.
Female Guests, please choose a date for your friend.
P.S.: You cannot choose yourself.]
A few seconds later, the Program Team sent a hurried follow-up message.
[Youai Butler: P.P.S.: You can only choose an opposite-sex date for your friend. Same-sex dating is forbidden!!!]
Ning Xi: excel me? (T/N: “excel me?” is Chinese internet slang for “excuse me?”)
She wasn’t stupid-of course she knew she had to pick an opposite-sex friend for Fu Zhi.
This message from the Program Team was truly baffling.
[Looks like Ning Xi has no idea why the Program Team sent this message. Isn’t it because her same-sex CP with Ning Mingyue is almost as popular as the other CPs, hahahaha]
[Our girl’s obliviousness is on another level]
Ning Xi didn’t hesitate to pick Jiang Sheshe for Fu Zhi.
Since she couldn’t go on a date with Ning Mingyue, Fu Zhi shouldn’t even think about it either.
Her own failure was bad enough, but her rival’s success was even more aggravating!
Outside the surveillance room.
The three male guests stared at the screen, trying to guess who the Female Guests would pick for them.
“Is it possible for a Female Guest to pick two guys at once?” Wei Xuan asked with a laugh after reading the rules.
Shen Yibai said nothing, just silently watched the screen, lost in thought.
Fu Zhi stretched lazily and casually moved to the side of the screen.
He just happened to block Ning Xi’s face.
His movements were so natural that no one noticed there was anything odd about what he did.
[Youai Butler: In response to Wei Xuan’s question, it is possible for a Female Guest to date two male guests at the same time.]
Everyone grew thoughtful.
[Youai Butler: There are three Friend Compatibility Test answer sheets on the table. The Female Guests have already finished theirs. Now, it’s time for the male guests to answer.
The pair with the most correct answers and the best compatibility will get priority in choosing tomorrow’s date location.]
Next to the answer sheet lay three cards, each labeled:
Dessert Experience Hall, Horror Escape Room, Surfing at the Beach.
Fu Zhi’s gaze swept past “Horror Escape Room,” his eyelid twitching before he quickly looked away.
He then picked up the answer sheet, read the question, and finally relaxed, scoffing:
“What’s the meaning of Fu Zhi’s phone lock screen password 0490?”
Such an easy question-there’s no way Ning Xi could get it wrong, right?
So Fu Zhi carefully wrote on the answer sheet:
Answer: 0490 = The top speed of the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ is 490 km/h.
Next question: What kind of ‘light’ causes pain?
Fu Zhi thought for a moment and wrote:
A slap.
Third question: Strawberries or mangoes?
Fu Zhi didn’t care much for either fruit, but remembering that Ning Xi was slightly allergic to mangoes, he confidently wrote:
Strawberries.
…
He answered all ten questions in a row.
The more Fu Zhi wrote, the more confident he became.
Answering questions was a piece of cake!
[As expected of Childhood Sweethearts, Fu Zhi didn’t hesitate at all with these answers]
[Fu Zhi and Ning Xi seem to have known each other the longest among the three pairs of guests. I think their tacit understanding should be number one!]
[Comeback, my CP!]
However, the results shocked everyone.
Jiang Sheshe & Wei Xuan: 8 correct answers, ranked first in tacit understanding.
Ning Mingyue & Shen Yibai: 6 correct answers, ranked second.
Ning Xi & Fu Zhi: 0 correct answers, ranked third.
“Impossible! How could we be last?”
Fu Zhi snatched up Ning Xi’s answer sheet sent by the Program Team.
When he saw Ning Xi’s answers, his vision went black.
Question: What’s the meaning of Fu Zhi’s phone lock screen password 0490?
Ning Xi: Because April 90th is Fu Zhi’s birthday.
Question: What kind of ‘light’ causes pain?
Ning Xi: When you run out of money.
Question: Strawberries or mangoes?
Ning Xi: Or.
Question: What is Ning Xi’s Chinese zodiac sign?
Ning Xi: Cow-horse.
…The rest of the answers were even more outrageous.
Fu Zhi clenched the answer sheet, his face growing darker and darker.
He wanted to die, but felt he wasn’t the one who should die.
[Ning Xi: See? Poverty and perfunctory answers can actually appear on the same answer sheet]
[Ning Xi’s mental state is a hundred years ahead of mine hahahahaha]
“Ning Xi! You’re dead!” Fu Zhi couldn’t take it anymore and shouted angrily.
“Achoo!”
Ning Xi rubbed her nose. “Weird, is someone cursing me behind my back?”
“No way, someone’s really cursing me? Didn’t I tell you all to go curse Fu Zhi instead?”
“Whatever, let them curse if they want. I’ve cursed plenty of people myself.”
“They probably can’t curse as harshly as I do.”
Ning Xi comforted herself with a clear conscience.
At this point, the livestream was nearing its end.
Ning Xi said goodbye to the fans, then went to shower and remove her makeup.
Jiang Sheshe stared at the tightly closed bathroom door, then smiled at the camera:
“The livestream is about to end, I really can’t bear to part with everyone, so I’ve decided to use my Privilege Card: extend the livestream by half an hour!”
Her Privilege Card allowed her to extend any activity by half an hour, usable for dates, games, etc.
Off-screen, behind the monitor.
Director Qin’s expression was hard to describe: “Everyone only gets one Privilege Card, and Jiang Sheshe uses it for this?”
The Assistant Director actually laughed: “Didn’t Ning Xi use her Privilege Card just to eat food? Jiang Sheshe’s usage is already pretty normal.”
Director Qin: …
Since all the other guests’ livestreams had ended, all the viewers flocked to the extended Ning Xi & Jiang Sheshe room.
The number of viewers online actually reached over ten million.
[Ahhhh, Sheshe’s skin is so nice, her bare face is so cute and bouncy! Please share your skincare secrets!]
Jiang Sheshe felt delighted reading this comment, but pretended to be modest:
“Honestly, my bare face is just average. Maybe it’s genetics-I was just born with skin like this, you can’t see any pores.”
She’d been doing all kinds of facial care since she was little, and started medical beauty treatments as an adult. Of course her bare face was flawless~
[Sheshe, hi, Ning Xi probably doesn’t know the livestream was extended. Could you please remind her? After all, she’s a girl-she might come out of the shower wearing little and accidentally expose herself [worried]]
Jiang Sheshe pretended not to see this comment.
Just then-
The bathroom door opened from the inside.
Ning Xi had finished her shower!
Jiang Sheshe’s gaze snapped to the bathroom door.
She was looking forward to millions of viewers seeing Ning Xi’s “true face”!
However, when the person came out, Jiang Sheshe’s eyes widened completely-
“Who are you?”